


An Open Field That's Framed With Trees

by YouAreMyHappilyEverAfter



Series: Here I Am And I Stand So Tall [5]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game), Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fusion Realm, Multi, Post-Canon, Post-Game(s), Post-Steven Universe Future, Powerful Steven Universe, Road Trips, steven is a fusion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29975826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouAreMyHappilyEverAfter/pseuds/YouAreMyHappilyEverAfter
Summary: Continuing on with his road trip across the country, Steven comes across a small farming town that seems like the perfect place to take a few days and rest. While the people he meets are nice, and the Flower Dance Festival he attends is a lot of fun, he's realizing that there's still more left to learn about his gem half -- and himself.
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Shane/Player (Stardew Valley)
Series: Here I Am And I Stand So Tall [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1767889
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	An Open Field That's Framed With Trees

**Author's Note:**

> Steven is on a road trip finding other kids and teens like him across the world, and a few different universes in this series. Each piece can be read as a standalone, but should be read as part of the series in the bigger picture.
> 
> With that, though, enjoy the new addition to the story! -Kit

Slowing down and pulling into a spot just off the road, Steven looked around at the small town he had rolled into. It was… really cute. Seeing a little shop, Steven smiled and walked over. If nothing else, he could at least peek around the town a bit, and get some snacks for the road.

Entering the building, the bell above his head rang. “Hello! Welcome to Pierre’s! Anything I can do for you today?” Steven smiled as he looked around the shelves.

“Uh- Hi there! Is there anywhere in town a guy can crash for a couple nights before I get back out on the road?”

“Huh, now there’s a question.” The man - Pierre maybe? - rubbed at the back of his neck. “We don’t really have hotels around here - you’d find that in the city.”

Steven shrugged. Hey, they had some nice produce here. “It’s no big deal. I have a car with a lock.”

“Oh! Why don’t you check in with the farm just up the road from here? Cypress runs the farm and has made a pretty clear point of taking people in for a couple of days if they need it.”

“Oh.” Picking out a couple nice looking fruits, and some less healthy snacks, Steven took them over to the counter. “You said a farm? Sounds nice.”

“It is. Cypress moved into the valley about a year ago, now.” Pierre - thank you nametag - scanned through his items. “Really made this place home.”

“Huh.” Cypress was a nice name. As Steven paid for his things, he smiled. “Thanks, I’ll go check it out.

“Sure thing,” Pierre nodded, giving him a smile. “I hope you enjoy your stay here in Stardew Valley.”

Steven managed a wave, “Thanks!” He used his foot to nudge the door open, dumping most everything in the car. He grabbed a couple peaches, tucking one into his jacket pocket and munching on one as he headed up the road that Pierre had pointed out. 

It took a couple of minutes, but he could definitely tell when he arrived. It looked like a lot of the land hadn’t been really used, yet, but with everything growing and flowering it was  _ beautiful. _ “Wow,” he said quietly, looking around and grinning. There were a couple beehouses, with like a  _ million _ flowers all around them! It was really nice. He caught sight of someone a little further in on the farm. Looked like they were pulling up plants. Hm… Parsnips? Harvesting was probably a better word for it. “Hi there!” he called.

The person looked up, staring at them in confusion for a few moments before giving a laugh, “Hi. Let me guess, Pierre sent you my way?”

"Yeah, he did. You must be Cypress." Steven walked over, looking at the crops. "Need some help?"

“Depends,” Cypress grinned. “How long do you plan on sticking around?”

"Just a couple of days, then I'm headed back out on the road," he said, nearly finished with his peach.

“Looks like you picked the perfect time to come through,” Cypress laughed, standing up. “Alright. What all do you know about harvesting and farming?”

“Actually, I know a bit. My family has a farm back home that I helped out on a bit.”

“Great! You know more than me when I first started this farm,” Cypress laughed, shaking their head and grabbing the basket of parsnips. “Come on, we’ll get you set up in a room and then you can come back out and help me finish up today’s harvest.”

Steven grinned. “Cool. I can carry that for you, if you want.” 

“Be my guest,” Cypress laughed, handing it over. “Any excuse to shove off work on others - especially during  _ spring. _ ”

He hefted up the basket pretty easily. “Oh yeah, getting back into the swing of it after winter, huh?” Those parsnips looked really good. “The guy back at the shop said you’ve only been up here a year.”

“Yeah, but one year here in the valley feels like five years in the city,” Cypress groaned, shaking their head. “It’s utterly  _ exhausting. _ ”

“You used to live in the city? What did you used to do?”

“Work for Joja Cola,” Cypress muttered, rolling their eyes. “It was  _ awful.  _ Just boring desk work day in and day out and I finally got sick of it and came here to my grandpa’s old farm, and, well. Guess I turned into a farmer.”

“Oh man, Joja Cola? I  _ hate _ their soda. I don’t even get why people like it.” He walked up the steps to the nice farmhouse, Cypress opening the door ahead of him.

“Right? We have a Joja Market in town and it’s  _ awful.  _ Like, okay, the prices are cheap, but it’s definitely not worth it one bit since they’re all  _ bloodsuckers-  _ Oh, you can just set those down on the table, for now.”

Steven set the parsnips down on the table, catching one that tried to roll away. “Wow, jeez,” he snorted, setting it back down on the top of the pile. “Tell me how you really feel.” 

“I don’t know enough swears for that.” Oh. Steven liked this one. “Come on, I have a spare room just up the stairs you can use.”

“Hey, thanks for this, seriously,” he told them, smiling and nodding as they led him up the stairs.

“That’s just how it is here,” Cypress said, giving him a smile. “Everyone seems to help each other out - and oh, man, are some of them friendly. Day one and it was like half these people seemed to think they had known me my entire life. Only one asshole in the entire place to remind me that I hadn’t just arrived in an alternate universe or something.”

“Thanks for the compliment.” A man peeked out of a room on the second floor, looking from Cypress to Steven before giving a snort of laughter. “Another stray? Really?”

"Hi there," Steven said with a wave. "I'm Steven." Huh. Nice couple. Real… well.  _ Real. _ “I’m just in town for a couple days.” 

“Pierre told you to come here, didn’t he?” Wow. Happened that often, huh? “Because  _ somebody  _ keeps taking in strays.”

He snorted. “Jeez, sounds like me.” He scratched the back of his head. “I hope it’s not a problem.”

“Nah. Shane, by the way,” Shane greeted, stepping out to shake his hand. “I’m the asshole Cypress married due to some bout of insanity.”

Steven nodded, shaking his hand. “Yeah, I picked up on that.”

“Huh. I see why Cypress warmed up to you so quickly,” Shane snickered after a moment. “Feel free to run out of here in the middle of the night when you get overworked.”

He waved it off. “Trust me, this kind of thing is nothing for me.” 

“Bold words,” Shane grinned. “We’ll see how long those words hold up.”

“Ignore him, he’s an asshole,” Cypress complained, leaning in to kiss Shane’s cheek anyway. “Go be a bother to all your ladies.”

Steven rose an eyebrow as Shane huffed, ‘storming’ down the stairs. “‘Ladies?’”

“His chickens,” Cypress giggled. “He calls them his ladies and it’s funny each and every time. He’s such a dork.”

“Can still hear you!”

“Wasn’t trying to be quiet!” Heh. He could feel how much they loved each other.

“That’s sweet,” he said, not entirely talking about the chickens, but then again… “I’ve thought about chickens a time or two.”

“Really? Hey, you could watch how we care for chickens around here if you’re really curious.” Cypress stared at him for a moment, finally giving a small smile. “Chickens are good for depression.”

Steven's eyes widened before he finally chuckled. "I- I dunno if I would say all  _ that. _ " Jeez. The people he ran into.

“Kid.” Cypress crossed their arms, turning to look at him. “You plan on staying almost a week in  _ this place _ \- The fact you even found this place at all kind of shows that you’re not just out on some college tour road trip.” Cypress’ expression lightened. “Sorry, but let’s just say I know what it’s like to end up in a town like this with nothing but a car and a few things to my name.”

"I'm just getting myself away from home for a little while. Exploring and stuff. You know. Life-changing inner-identity-changing shit or something like that?" Jeez. This Cypress person wasn't one to be messed around with. 

“Good. Best thing you can do when you’ve lost yourself is to leave the place you felt like you were trapped in,” Cypress said, leading him along. “Oh, here’s your room, by the way. Guest bed is all made up and, because I refuse to be a fucking heathen, there’s a washer and dryer in the basement. Shane cried when we got it installed.”

"Oh, cool, thanks. Hey, if I leave my car in town it'll be fine, right?" Steven was already grabbing out his phone to text the gems. A fucking farm. Who would've guessed? 

“Yeah, it’ll be fine. If you want you can move it over to the farm? I have a patch of free land that you can use to park it if you want.”

"Nah, if it's fine, it's fine, I don't wanna intrude."

“You’re so nice,” Cypress sighed, hand on their cheek. “This town is going to adore you, so always feel free to run back here and hide.”

Steven laughed, "Don't worry, I'm used to it. I'm only here a couple days before I head on to a bigger city nearby."

“Sounds like you’re having fun, though,” Cypress grinned. “Come on. I’ll show you what needs doing today.”

"Cool!"

It was a good evening of helping out on the farm and laughing as Shane and Cypress both chased after some escaped chickens, but eventually it was night and Steven found himself falling asleep easily. 

He was not expecting to wake up to Cypress cursing up a storm with enough words to prove that they really had lived in the city.

Yawning, Steven got himself dressed and headed out to the farm. Huh. Big cauliflower. "What's up?" he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 

“What’s up? What’s up?! I’ll tell you what’s up! That  _ fucking witch  _ has the goddamn  _ audacity  _ to come to my farm and do  _ this fucking shit! _ ” Cypress was screaming at the sky, Shane hovering nervously beside them looking torn between amusement and worry.

Deciding Cypress wasn't much help, Steven looked to Shane. "A 'witch.'" 

“A witch,” Shane sighed, Cypress still swearing at the sky before going to kick over a rock. “It’s a long story, but just chalk it up to this place being a little bit weird. She and Cypress don’t really… get along.”

Steven sighed, walking over to the giant cauliflower while grumbling. " _ No, _ I said. My realm doesn't have  _ magic, _ I said! I'm in the  _ Quantum Realm! _ " He huffed, picking up the stupid vegetable. "We use  _ science here! _ " 

“Not in Stardew Valley fucking  _ apparently! _ ” Cypress yelled at the sky one more time before looking at Steven. They blinked, sighed, and nodded their head. “You too, huh?”

"I just got back from another realm a few days ago. Where do you want this thing?"

“I would adopt you if I could,” Cypress said seriously, pointing at a patch of land just beside the house. “There. We can take our anger out on it later and break it up.”

"Sorry, you'll have to take it up with the fifty other parental figures in my life," he snorted, taking it over to where they'd pointed out.

“Then I’ll be the cool sibling with the neat farm you crash at when you hate life and all your parental figures.” Cypress and Lars would get along so great.

He laughed, setting the veggie down. "What do you do with stuff this big, anyway?"

“Whenever it happens? I break it up into smaller pieces to actually be able to do something with it and then I take my sword and go have a talk with that  _ witch. _ ”

"Oh. Huh." Well, that was one way to do it. "My girlfriend uses a sword."

“She’s very smart, then,” Cypress laughed, pausing and looking around before narrowing their eyes at where Shane was trying to sneak off towards the chicken coop. “Don’t even think about it! You promised to help!”

"I-" Shane paused. Then he grinned. That couldn't be good. "You know what, chickadee? You're right. I'll stay and help as long as you want." 'Chickadee.' That was pretty cute.

Cypress flushed, looking flustered before freezing and narrowing their eyes. “Hang on. Hang on, wait, it’s- You! Today is the Flower Dance! You’re not getting out of it again, Shane!”

Shane's 'sunny' demeanor dropped, and man, if looks could kill. "What are you talking about,  _ again. _ "

Cypress  _ smirked.  _ “Oh, but Emily and Marnie have  _ so  _ many stories to tell about you.” Yeah, Steven was pretty sure there was some… _ tension  _ here. He wondered if he could escape back into the house. “The way I hear it, there was one time where you  _ loved  _ the dance, back when you were eight and visiting here?”

Shane  _ looked _ pretty pissed, but he  _ felt _ mostly just fond amusement and exasperation. "If you don't shut up, I'm gonna rip you-"

"No you're not." The two looked at him - they had probably forgot he was even there. 

Cypress blinked, nodded, and then shrugged. “Okay. Cool. Emotion powers. Right. Why not. Okay! Go get dressed fancy, Steven, we’re going to a dance.”

"So… What's going on, exactly?" A dance? Why was he going? But maybe a dance was what he needed.

“The Flower Dance,” Shane groaned. “It’s some stupid dance where everyone gathers together, dances stupidly, and celebrates flowers or some shit. It’s  _ stupid. _ ”

Steven couldn't help but grin. "It actually sounds kinda sweet. Good thing I never leave home without my good tux."

“Excellent!” Cypress beamed, grabbing Shane and dragging him towards the house. “And you are  _ definitely  _ not getting out of it.”

Steven headed back out to his car. And his dad  _ laughed _ when he brought his tux with him. Who was laughing now! Always be prepared for anything! Besides, a dance sounded like a great way to distract himself and take his mind off of, well, everything.

When he got back up to the farm with tuxedo in hand, he heard a commotion from inside the house. Hm… Hanging it up on the porch, he decided he'd just water a few plants while he waited. 

It was about twenty minutes before Cypress was coming out with Shane, Cypress giving him a grin, “You can go get changed now. We’ll leave once you’re ready.”

Steven snickered back at them, “Is it safe?” Well, they looked good, at least. They cleaned up pretty well.

“No promises,” Cypress smirked, kissing at Shane’s cheek who was flustered and looking angry again. “See? Putting on a nice outfit isn’t that hard.”

“Are you sure about this? This is some town thing, isn’t it? I wouldn’t wanna-”

“Forget it. There’s no escape,” Shane cut off, shaking his head. “Pierre knows you’re here which means his wife knows which means the whole town knows. If we show up without you they’ll hunt you down.”

Steven scratched the back of his head. “Aw, jeez… Alright, alright, I’ll go get changed real quick.” With that, Steven grabbed his tux and headed into the house to get dressed.

It didn’t take long before he was dressed and back outside, following the two through the sweet town and the idyllic woods towards where the dance was taking place. It really did look like a nice, quiet place to live - minus the  _ freaking magic. _ His eyes widened a bit when they got to the ‘festival.’ Wow. There were flowers  _ everywhere, _ and  _ everyone _ was all dressed up. “Wow. Glad I bring an outfit for any occasion,” he mentioned quietly.

“It’s great, right?” Cypress beamed, looking around at everything. “This is only my second time being here, but it’s… It’s so different from the city. It’s  _ great. _ ”

“Yeah, I’m not huge into the city life, myself. I’m from Beach City, over in Delmarva,” he told them. “Everyone knows everyone, y’know.”

“You’d fit in well here, then,” Shane said, trying to slip off again before Cypress snapped a hand out and grabbed Shane’s arm. “Oh, come on.”

Steven grinned at them, “So, you guys gonna dance, then?” They were really cute together.

“No.”

“Yes!” Shane glared at Cypress, who only gave a bright grin and squeezed his hand tightly. “C’mon… Last year you told me to fuck off and go drown myself in the punch bowl.”

Shane rose an eyebrow. “Yeah? Fuck off and go drown yourself in the punch bowl.” Aw. They wuved each other.

Cypress pouted, Steven not sure if they’d go for ramping it right back up or try something else. Apparently it was something else, “Fine. Oh! Maybe Elliot will dance with me-!”

“You’re  _ not _ gonna go dance with  _ that _ pretty boy, I’m your fucking  _ husband. _ ”

“But you told me to fuck off and go drown myself in the punch bowl,” Cypress pointed out, leaning back in towards Shane and tugging at what seeme to be a chain under his neck. “But since I’m so  _ stupidly  _ in love with you I’ll ask one more time!” Okay, they really were cute, but what was with Steven meeting stupidly cute couples? “Come dance with me?”

Shane sighed, “Alright, alright,  _ fine, _ I’ll do your stupid dance.”

Steven waved them off as Cypress dragged Shane along. That was nice, at least. And at least neither of  _ them _ seemed magical or anything. Steven wasn’t going to ask, though. Just in case.

Instead he looked around the area, seeing everybody dressed up and laughing and talking and okay three women were approaching him. “Hello! You must be the new visitor to town!”

“Hi there,” he said with a grin. “I’m Steven. I’m mostly just passing through.”

“Nice to meet you, Steven! It’s so nice to see young people come to these gatherings. They’re what keeps a community together, you know.”

“Yeah, I get that. We don’t really have stuff like this back home. We’re more of a ‘concert’ type,” he told them with a grin. “But this is nice. It’s really cute, and everything.”

“It’s also a great place for the young ones to find some new love,” one of the woman chuckled, looking at Steven. “What about you, Steven? Any special young thing out there for you?”

Steven laughed quietly, waving it off, “Oh, yeah. I’ve got my girlfriend Connie back home.”

“I can tell just by your smile that you’re very close to her,” one of them said softly, another rolling her eyes. “Young love is so sweet.”

“Yeah, we’ve been together for, like, a year, but we’ve been pretty good friends for like four years,” he told them with a grin. “Sometimes I think my family likes her more than me.” 

“Oh doesn’t that sound familiar,” one laughed, smiling at him. “I’m Marnie, Shane’s aunt. He said the same exact thing saying we all loved Cypress more than him.”

He nodded to Marnie. “Yeah, Connie… She attracts a  _ lot _ less trouble than I do. She’s looking at a career in politics.”

“Oh?” Another one of the woman perked up, looking curious. “Now that does sound like something.”

“Heh. Yeah. She’s really smart.” He grinned, scratching at the back of his head. Actually, looking around at everyone dancing around with people they cared about, it… was really making him miss Connie. Glancing down to his phone, Steven laughed at something one of the women said, texting Connie quickly.

It didn’t take long for a reply to come through, Connie’s text starting with a little smiley face. ‘ _ Hey, Steven! How’s the trip going? Find anywhere interesting? _ ”

He smiled down at the text message, sending her a response, ‘ _ Hey. Cute little town. Stardew Valley. Getting put up on a farm for another night or two before I move on. _ ’ 

‘ _ Sounds fun! Anything interesting going on over there or just nice and quiet?’ _

‘ _ Magic. _ ’ Deciding to silence his phone and let Connie have fun with that, he grinned and tucked it away, glancing back at where one of the women was telling a story. 

It was barely five minutes and Steven was ready to check his phone before he heard a familiar roaring noise and oh. Oh, no. Lion and Connie slid into view, Connie sliding off while Lion flopped over to the ground. Connie then started yelling. “Steven Quartz Cutie Pie DeMayo Diamond Universe! You cannot just tell me something like that and put me on  _ mute-  _ Are you wearing a suit?”

“Connie!” Oh man, what did he answer first? “Uh… Surprise?” He grinned, walking over to her. Maybe he could just sidestep everything there. 

Connie ducked past his arms, coming out on the other side with a stern expression that looked ready to crack for laughter, “Oh no. No, no, no, I’m not falling for your hugs until you explain to me why, out of all the things you packed, you took a  _ suit  _ with you.”

Steven looked down at himself. “For those just in case moments? Like this one, apparently,” he said with a grin. “All I know is I wake up this morning, and Cypress is like ‘there’s a big dance festival thing, hope you have a suit!’ And I’m like ‘boy, do I!’”

Connie choked on a laugh, trying to hide her grin as she shook her head, “Okay- Okay, okay. Cypress is the one who’s putting you up on their farm?”

“Yeah, Cypress and Shane.” He gestured towards the two of them. “Shane is the one that’s  _ super happy _ to be here.”

Connie looked over, giving a little grin. “I dunno, they both look pretty happy being here.” What? Shane was complaining nonstop- And now he was dancing with Cypress near the edges of the clearing with a sickeningly sweet in-love smile.

“Huh,” Steven said quietly, looking to Connie before grinning. “Well, looks like you’re underdressed.” Steven watched as Connie blinked and looked down at her pressed capris and button-up shirt. She then looked around at the clearing, back to Steven, and then to Lion. 

“Well I am right  _ now,  _ but remember that bag I had you put inside of Lion a while back?”

He rose an eyebrow at her. “You mean… your  _ emergency _ duffle bag? What about it?”

“Steven,” Connie said seriously, stepping forward to put her hands on his shoulders. “I know you very well. Of course there’s a nice dress in my emergency duffle bag.”

Beaming at her, Steven gave her a tight hug before he turned to Lion, taking a breath and diving into his mane.

In a few ways, it was nice. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d even properly  _ used _ Lion’s mane. Everything seemed so calm and peaceful. Grabbing Connie’s bag up, he looked around. He needed to visit Lars again soon, he thought, then he jumped back out of Lion with the bag in hand. 

Connie was taking the bag immediately and kissing his cheek before she was running off with Lion to act as ‘guard.’ It felt like it was barely seconds before she was back and hopping straight into Steven’s arms, kissing his cheek again, “Hi.”

“Hi,” he laughed, swinging her around. “Wow. Look at you. Gosh, you’re so amazing.” Oh, whoops, did he say that out loud?

“Luckily for you that you’re  _ just  _ as amazing,” Connie teased, arms lightly wrapped around his shoulders when she was set back down. “Not sure if I mentioned but, for as weird as you are for taking a suit with you, you look really good, Steven.”

Steven grinned at her, running a hand through her hair. “Thanks, Connie.” Connie leaned into the touch for a moment, giving a soft sigh.

“Of course- Oh, right!” Connie gave him a sharp pinch to the side that had him yelpling. “You can’t just send me a text that says  _ magic  _ and then ignore me!”

“Okay, listen, so, you might not believe me, but I wake up, and there’s this  _ giant cauliflower, _ right? Cypress is losing their cool, and starts ranting about a  _ witch _ coming and doing something to make the cauliflower huge!”

“How huge we talking?” Connie asked at once, already looking like she wanted to analyze specifics. She was so cute. “Because there’s a large crop and then there’s  _ giant. _ ”

“No, like,  _ giant. _ Like…” Steven frowned, trying to find a good scale before he picked up Connie’s arms, like she was getting ready to hug him. Then he backed up a couple yards and held his own arms out. “That big.”

“Oh, wow,” Connie blinked, looking between the space. “That’s pretty big. And I guess that’s not really a  _ normal  _ occurrence here?”

“Judging by how stomping mad they were? I think it’s only a little weird.”

“The places you find,” Connie sighed, shaking her head and dropping her arms to cross them. “Honestly, Steven, how do you manage.”

“No idea,” he snorted, walking over to her and bringing her into another hug. “I’m really glad you’re here. I missed you.”

Steven watched as Connie  _ flushed.  _ “Well… I didn’t really come all the way here just to yell about not looking at my messages,” she mumbled, twirling a piece of her hair and oh, she was embarrassed. “I mostly just missed you and that seemed like a good excuse.”

Grinning, he pulled her closer and kissed at her cheek. “Thanks. I’m really glad you’re here.” Connie near melted against him, giving him a quick kiss to the lips.

“I’m glad I’m here, too.”

“Well? Come on! Let’s dance!”

“About time you asked!”

Steven wasn’t sure how long they ended up dancing for, but he knew he had been able to spend the entire day with Connie, dancing, laughing, talking, and just being together. “You know why I don’t wanna come back home yet, right?”

Connie gave a soft hum, head leaning against his shoulder. “I can’t say I fully understand what your thoughts are on everything, but I think I understand why you went on this trip and why you’re still going. Does that count?”

He pulled her closer. “Yeah, Connie. It counts.” Stars  _ above, _ what had he done to deserve her? She was so… So…  _ Connie.  _

“You’ll find what you’re looking for,” Connie said softly, reaching up to kiss his cheek. “I know you will.”

“Thanks, Connie. It’s… I’m trying,” he said, looking back at her. “But hey, y’know, I think I’d really like to have my own farm someday.” 

“Yeah?” Connie laughed softly, closing her eyes and humming. “Hm… You know, I think I can picture it pretty clearly.”

Steven grinned, grabbing her and twirling her around. “You. Me. A couple chickens, and a whole bunch of vegetables.”

Connie burst into giggles, letting herself be twirled. “A couple of chickens, huh? Why do I have a feeling that you’d spoil those chickens  _ rotten. _ ”

“Aw, c’mon. You  _ know _ I would,” he snickered as Connie took hold, dipping him. “You’re sweeping me off my feet.”

“My secret evil plan all along,” Connie teased, pulling him back up and meeting him with a soft kiss. “I guess I should probably start heading back.”

“Did you even tell your parents that you were coming to see me?”

“I mean, I left a note after shouting down the stairs after them, so they technically know I’m with you right now.”

He sighed, shaking his head and smiling at her. “Connesha J. Maheswaran, what  _ am _ I going to do with you?”

“It’s a shame,” Connie sighed dramatically, ‘collapsing’ against his chest and turning so she could throw a hand over her forehead just as dramatically. “I suppose there’s nothing left for you to do but keep me.” Laughing, Steven kissed her cheek.

“You better go home, before your  _ mom _ finds a way here.”

“Alright alright,” Connie pouted. “There’s no need to  _ traumatize  _ me about it. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

He pressed their foreheads together. “I know. I love you, Connie.”

Connie smiled, pressing back against him for a moment. “I love you too, Steven.”

“Go ahead. I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye, Steven,” Connie smiled, giving him one last quick kiss. “Come on, Lion! Time to go!” As she climbed back on Lion, Steven waved, watching the two of them go. Ah… He already missed her.

There was a call of his name, Steven looking to where Shane was waving at him with a red-faced Cypress cuddled up in his arms. “Everything is pretty much over if you wanna head back with us!”

Steven nodded, walking over to them. “Uh… You need any help there?” Shane rolled his eyes, looking down at Cypress.

“ _ Somebody  _ drank from the wrong punch bowl.” Cypress burst into loud giggles, tugging on Shane’s shirt.

“Shane, Shane, Shane- Hey, Shane, guess what- Shane-”

“Cypress, I know that you’ve never listened before, but please, for once in your life, please, shut the  _ fuck- _ ”

Cypress reached up to kiss him on the cheek, relaxed against him and whispering a soft, heartfelt little, “I love you.” It was incredibly cute. It was also incredibly lovey-dovey, jeez.

“I’m just gonna… go on ahead,” he told them, walking a bit faster. Jeez, why did  _ he _ attract all the stupidly sappy couples?! Maybe it was some kind of curse. After the last couple of places he had been, he would definitely believe in curses. 

Still, at least Steven had a place to stay for the night. And, if he needed to, he could always hide in his car in town.

☆

Steven felt the warm sun on the back of his neck as he walked across soft sand and listened to the pounding of ocean waves. There was no other place he could be except Beach City, which was odd, because he had just been… somewhere else, hadn’t he? Steven turned around. Weird, the beach was  _ never _ this empty. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called out, "Pearl! Garnet, Amethyst, Dad! Are you guys out here?"

He turned the corner around the hill to the… temple? That wasn't the temple. It looked like… Diamond palace? Hang on… Hang on, he knew this place- He knew this  _ dream. _ He was dreaming. What had been so important in this dream last time? Hesitantly, he headed to the palace, but paused when the beach stretched out into… the barn? The barn, way out in Beach City? That was a new one. Glancing to the palace, he turned and headed to the barn.

There was bright, cheerful laughter that sounded scarily like his own, Steven frowning as he got closer to the barn and peeked inside. It looked like it was filled with sunshine and there were an array of sleeping bags on the floor, Steven hearing bare footsteps running across the wooden platforms up above before they stopped and he was looking up at… himself. "What the- Who are you?" There was no way he was dreaming about himself. A gem? Didn't look like gem coloring, though. This was  _ so weird. _

The Steven look-alike laughed again, giving him a soft smile before leaning back to tug up his shirt and show… no gem. Just human. Steven frowned, and he had to check to make sure his own gem was there before looking around. "I don't get it. What is this place?" 

The other opened his mouth, ready to say  _ something  _ before he paused and gave an amused roll of his eyes. He then… waved? Why was he waving? Was that- Was that a  _ rooster? _

Steven blinked and he was staring up at a wooden ceiling. A ceiling… cause he was on a farm. In Stardew Valley. Not some weird dream with other Stevens. Some weird dream that he had gone through for the second time and  _ what the fuck. _

Sitting up, Steven grabbed his phone and checked his texts. He wasn't sending anyone any weird mental videos or anything… What the  _ fuck _ was that dream about? That other version of him, he'd been ready to say something, what  _ was _ it?

That human looking version of him had been about to say something, that  _ gem  _ version of him had smiled at him, and Steven was getting dreams that felt like they  _ weren’t just dreams. _ Wasn’t he supposed to be  _ done  _ with all of this shit, now?

It had to have been this town. Magic? That was what happened last time, he'd been around  _ magic. _ He needed to go, he needed to get out.

Getting himself dressed, Steven headed down the stairs to Cypress looking to be making breakfast while Shane was still waking up. 

“Hey, Steven,” Cypress greeted. “You want some breakfast? Shane’s ladies seemed to have quite the night last night.”

"No- No thanks. I-" Steven took a breath to calm himself down. No Pink. He was getting more control over it. "I really appreciate you letting me stay, but I should really be going, I kinda sorta have a schedule."

Cypress stared at him for a moment, finally giving a nod. “Yeah, sure, don’t wanna keep you from anything. You wanna take a little breakfast to go? We have  _ more  _ than enough right now.”

"No thanks. Really. I've got snacks and stuff in my car, I just- I need to go." Before he freaked himself out. He headed out the door, ignoring their goodbyes and instead only waving a vague hand behind him.

It was a little bit rude, maybe, but he just- He  _ had  _ to get out of there. All this magic and crazy dreaming was driving him crazy one stop at a time.


End file.
